The Food Snob is quite a stranger to vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dining. Typically, we’re out there pounding tacos, pizza, fried chicken, crab cakes, pulled pork sandwiches and anything else that seems like it will get us full enough to need a nap after.
But a reader reached out last week, recommending a gluten-free installment of the Food Snob, and not being afraid of any consumable, we decided to take her up on that idea.
For our first specifically gluten-free meal, we went to Willows Plant-Based Eatery on South Main Street, whose menu is loaded with items that are either naturally gluten-free or that can be made gluten-free upon request. The restaurant is all about being all-organic and friendly to vegans and the gluten-free crowd, so it was a perfect place to try for this Food Snob.
Gluten refers to certain kinds of proteins found in wheat, rye and barley, and it acts as sort of a glue that holds food items (such as bread) together. People who have celiac disease have a hard time processing gluten, and when they eat gluten-laden foods it leads to damage in the small intestine. While celiac disease only affects about 1 percent of the population – according to the Celiac Disease Foundation – some people eat gluten-free just by choice. Last Thursday, this particular Food Snob did exactly that.
Browsing over the menu, I wanted to go with something that wouldn’t seem too unfamiliar to me, so I chose the North East, a black bean burger with lettuce, onion, tomato, ketchup, mustard and something called Vegenaise, which is apparently a vegan, egg-free alternative to mayonnaise. This one did not come naturally gluten-free, so I ordered it that way by request, which just meant using a gluten-free bun.
It came out quick, and it looked great – if not for the pieces of corn in the bean patty, I would’ve thought it was just a regular beef burger.
The first bite tasted very fresh – the veggies were crisp and tasty, and the bean patty was hearty and hot. The familiar flavors of ketchup and mustard really made it taste like a traditional burger, and I’d have had no idea it was vegan mayonnaise if the menu didn’t say so.
This was a surprisingly filling and satisfying burger. Having never specifically sought out anything gluten-free before, I figured the food was going to be light, bland and not all that flavorful, but I was dead wrong.
The key to this sandwich being gluten-free was the bread. They simply refer to it as a gluten-free bun, but it hardly tasted any different from a gluten-full bun. The only hint that it wasn’t an ordinary bun was its shape – it seemd a bit flatter than your typical McDonald’s burger bun.
The only downside to this experience I found was that it was a bit messier than I anticipated. Since the bun lacked gluten, which acts as that glue to hold everything together, there were moments of crumbling throughout the eating process. The bean patty also fell apart a bit more easily than a beef patty would, likely because legumes don’t really stick together the same way chunks of ground meat do. In any event, anything that fell out landed on the plate and was quickly scooped up and eaten by hand.
If you have a gluten-free diet, or you just like organic, healthy, plant-based food, give the North East at Willows a try.
